Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is marked by repetitive thoughts and strategies, either mental or physical, used to silence the thoughts and the accompanying anxiety. It entails an extreme need for certainty and emotional security and, therefore, is strongly associated with perfectionism, or the preoccupation with cultivating the perfect self and circumstances. It’s based, in large part, on wishful thinking, essentially believing what you want to believe. So, for example, one may believe that enough thought and/or effort will result in certainty.

Challenging these beliefs is difficult because the individual cherry-picks information and, at times, even romanticizes the past to provide examples of where their thinking came true. Rather than being merely irrational, OCD is also arational, meaning it stands above reason, refusing to be governed by it. In essence, OCD is a greedy child and, like a real one, doesn’t take responsibility for its beliefs, completely relies on the external world for comfort, can’t tell you what it needs, expects to just know it when it sees or feels it (i.e., when someone else figures it out and provides it), and fixates on the flaws of what’s been provided.

Considering OCD as a greedy child may help........

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